THE EMASCULATION OF LORD HENRY WOTTON

A STUDY OF VICTORIAN MASCULINITY IN

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY​ BY OSCAR WILDE

SUBMITTED BY:

DE LEON, KAYLA FRANCENE A.

TO:

SEBASTIAN GRAEF

AS PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE CLASS OF
PS 11: NINETEENTH CENTURY LEISURE CULTURE
UNIVERSITY OF REGENSBURG
REGENSBURG, GERMANY
WINTER SEMESTER 17/18

27 January 2018
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………… 2

ARGUMENTS

INABILITY TO PROVIDE………………………………………………………. 3

INABILITY TO PROTECT………………………………………………………. 6

DANDYISM AS RADICAL MASCULINITY…………………………………... 9

CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………. 10

WORKS CITED………………………………………………………………………….... 11

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 The Picture of Dorian Gray was published over a hundred years ago yet the timeless novel
continues to entrance readers with its partial exploration of the nature of good and evil. The titular
character of Dorian Gray, who cuts an Adonis-like figure, is enthralling to watch as he progresses from a
sweet, innocent youth to an immoral debauchee. There is also Basil Hallward, the painter who posed such
promising talent at the beginning of the book only to be thwarted by his tragic flaw: loving Dorian.
Furthermore, there is the compelling personna of Lord Henry Wotton, the honey-tongued aristocrat who
serves as a catalyst for Dorian's transformation.

In these three primary characters, Oscar Wilde examined not only good and evil, but the concept
of masculinity as perceived by the Victorians, as well. Lord Henry Wotton, to be more precise, would not
have been regarded as "masculine" according to the Victorian standards due to his relationship with his
wife.

Masculinity used to be perceived as a matter of chivalry and valor, however, this understanding
shifted after the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, which were characterized by the French and
Industrial Revolutions (Abdu Nagi). The new liberty regarding inheritance and marriage laws that were
gained during the French Revolution resulted in decrees promulgated by the ruling government that aimed
to strengthen family ties by enabling the patriarch to hold autocratic power over his wife and children
(Donaghue). During the Industrial Revolution, women were paid less wages than men and this, combined
with frequent periods of pregnancy and lactation, diminished the resources that they could contribute to
the family unit. Since children could not play a part in sustaining the family for the first eight years of
their lives, males had to shoulder the burden practically alone (Grimes). Thus, the concept of masculinity
evolved to include the ability to satisfy and provide for the family.

In addition to these external factors, the idea of separate spheres, which was profoundly
disseminated in nineteenth century England, also shaped the Victorian concept of gender roles. "The
separate spheres ideology holds that men were capable of reason, action, aggression, independence, and
self-interest.This is related to the public sphere. Women were capable of having such qualities of
femininity: emotion, obedience, submission, reliance, and selflessness" (Abdu Nagi). The masculinity of
the English upper-class became closely connected to the public sphere of commerce and industry while
females were alienated and relegated to inferiority (Horzum). This conviction allowed men to dominate
society so much so that it was expected for women to fashion themselves into the social mold and ideal
that was crafted for them by their fathers, brothers, and husbands. According to Foldy, manliness

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especially during the mid-nineteenth century “was identified with ‘honest, straightforward speech and
action, shorn of any hint of subtlety or equivocation,’ and tempered by a ‘muscular aestheticism’ whose
correlative virtues included honesty, vigor, asceticism, virility, loyalty, industry, piety, candidness, and
earnestness” (Foldy 83).

The concept of separate spheres, combined with the revolutions that defined the preceding period,
produced the ideal Victorian man who "was several things: brave, intelligent, physically strong,
emotionally independent, financially responsible, moral, independent, somewhat rugged and untamed"
(Collins). However, for a man to be seen by Victorian society as a person of worth, these qualities had to
be used for the protection of those who were deemed to be weaker than men specifically, women.

The aim of this paper is to examine the character of Lord Henry Wotton in Oscar Wilde’s ​The
Picture of Dorian Gray and to determine whether or not he would have been considered to be masculine
by the Victorians. The information regarding masculinity during the Victorian era combined with a
thorough reading of ​The Picture of Dorian Gray supports my claim that Lord Henry Wotton would not
have been considered masculine due to his inability to protect and provide for his wife. Additionally, I
will also attempt to negate the counter-argument regarding dandyism as radical masculinity. Naturally,
Oscar Wilde’s novel will be used as a primary source while secondary sources will consist of mostly
books and recent articles that focus on this particular topic.

I. Inability to Provide

First and foremost, Lord Henry Wotton has the distinction of being the first character to be
introduced in Oscar Wilde's 1890 classic, ​The Picture of Dorian Gray​. The very first chapter establishes
his languorous and pleasure-seeking personality since he is illustrated as smoking innumerable cigarettes
while lounging around Basil Hallward's art studio (Wilde 5). From the novel's introductory scene, we can
already understand the difference between Henry and Basil; the latter is dedicated to his work and most, if
not all, of his episodes in the story involve him either painting or talking about his work. Basil cannot be
separated from his livelihood and his art, and even the background characters of the novel cannot discuss
the man without his occupation. From the "divan of Persian saddlebags" and the "long tussore-silk
curtains that were stretched in front of the huge window" (Wilde 5), it can be assumed that Basil makes a
decent living from his paintings as it allows him to purchase both the bare necessities and some luxuries.

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 On the other hand, nothing is known about the mundane details of Lord Henry Wotton's life. His
occupation, other than being endowed with the noble title of 'Lord' is unknown and despite this honorific,
it is still difficult to determine where Lord Henry specifically stood in the hierarchy of Victorian nobility.
Furthermore, throughout the entire novel, Wilde makes no mention of how Henry is able to make money
and finance his extravagant lifestyle. Most of the Victorian aristocracy were able to earn money through
ownership of huge tracts of land which they could rent out to peasants. However, the dawn of the
Industrial Revolution meant that nobles had to find other avenues to diversify their income stream and so
the majority of them invested in factories, colonial plantations, and the like. Such investments required its
financiers or shareholders to constantly be on top of things so as to ensure that things were running
smoothly and that the stream of wealth was continuously flowing.

The question of whether Lord Henry Wotton earned a living through the traditional means of land
and rent or through the more modern approach of investment is not resolved in ​The Picture of Dorian
Gray​. What is known, though, is that Henry spent an exorbitant amount of money on luxury items and
bric-a-brac. For instance, in the fourth chapter of the novel, Wilde sets aside an entire paragraph to detail
the library found in Lord Henry's home.

"It was, in its way, a very charming room, with its high panelled wainscoting of olive-stained oak,
its cream-coloured frieze and ceiling of raised plaster-work, and its brickdust felt carpet strewn
with silk long-fringed Persian rugs. On a tiny satin-wood table stood a statuette by Clodion, and
beside it lay a copy of 'Les Cent Nouvelles,' bound for Margaret of Valois by Clovis Eve, and
powdered with the gilt daisies that Queen had selected for her device. Some large blue China jars
and parrot-tulips were ranged on the mantelshelf, and through the small leaded panes of the
window streamed the apricot-coloured light of a summer day in London" (Wilde 40).

The furniture and ornaments detailed in this single paragraph would have probably amounted to
several years' wages for a regular lower-class factory worker during the Victorian era. The book 'Les Cent
Nouvelles' alone would have cost a fortune as it had been bound with the intricate fanfare bindings that
Clovis Eve was famous for in the Royal Court during the seventeenth century. Furthermore, this copy had
once belonged to Marguerite de Valois, the daughter of King Henri II of France and his wife, Catherine of
Medici. Such an antique piece would have fetched a lucrative price. This single paragraph demonstrates
how Lord Henry wastes a huge amount of money on frivolities. Moreover, he is not only spending ​his
money but ​his wife's fortune, as well. Marriage customs during the Victorian times involved the dowry, a

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portion of the parental wealth that was distributed to a daughter upon her marriage. Lady Victoria Wotton,
whom we assume must have come from an upper-class family, would have had a rather sizeable dowry
seeing as its amount was expected to be directly proportionate to the social status of the groom. The
higher the status and the more noble the title, the bigger the amount, and from his title, it is safe to assume
that the money Lord Henry received from the marriage would have been quite large.

Lord Henry Wotton's extravagant expenses could also be the reason as to why Lady Victoria
always looked unkempt and ungroomed. The lack of funds in the Wotton household may have led her to
make do with what she had despite her not having many things. This is evidenced in a scene from the
fourth chapter when the reader is first introduced to her: "She was a curious woman, whose dresses
always looked as if they had been designed in a rage and put on in a tempest" and "She tried to look
picturesque, but only succeeded in being untidy." (Wilde 41). Women during the Victorian era mostly had
to depend on the male authority of the household that they lived in - whether it be their fathers, brothers,
or uncles - when it came to financial matters. Career opportunities for females were available but those
from the aristocracy generally did not work and had little to no marketable or industrial skills. In ​The
Picture of Dorian Gray​, even Sibyl Vane who worked as an actress at a small theater was greatly
encouraged by her mother to marry Dorian for his wealth: “Of course, if this gentleman is wealthy, there
is no reason why she should not contract an alliance with him. I trust he is one of the aristocracy. He has
all the appearance of it, I must say” (Wilde 56). This reflects the Victorian idea that while it was possible
for women to hold jobs and earn their own money, it was still better for a man to take care of them and
provide for them. If this marriage for wealth in the hopes that Dorian would be able to financially satisfy
Sibyl held for the lower-class such as the Vanes then this would have been even more exacerbated in the
case of Victoria Wotton. Her parents would have, without a doubt, wanted a marriage for their daughter
that would have ensured her financial stability. Similar to Mrs. Vane, the wealth of Victoria’s suitor
would have greatly influenced their decision on her marriage.

Therefore, it is arguable that Lord Henry Wotton would have been emasculated by his failure to
act responsibly when it came to his and his wife's finances. In nineteenth century England, “masculine
self-respect certainly demanded that a man provide for his family, and great shame was attached to one
who ‘failed’ (Tosh 14). Victorians equated masculinity with the ability to provide for one's family and
furthermore, according to Horzan, who was quoting Mosse, males of the Victorian era were expected to
exemplify the virtues of self-control and moderation (Horzan). Contrary to this, Lord Henry seldom
practiced self-restraint when it came to his expenses and it is obvious that he would have been unable to

5 
make extravagant purchases while still satisfying Lady Victoria's needs at the quality accorded to her by
her social station.

II. Inability to Protect

Masculinity during the Victorian era extended to not just the ability to provide for one's wife and
children, but also to their protection from cruel external forces that could have had detrimental effects to
their physical, psychological, and emotional conditions. “Bravery, and especially ability to protect were
central to the Victorians even while the peacetime forced them to change their expectations of men”
(Collins 5). The upper-class, due to their wealth, could afford to shelter their women and children from
the realities of the outside world that included child labor, harsh crime, and dehumanizing conditions in
the factories. Secluded in their gilded homes, the most that they had to deal with was the huge amounts of
gossip and scandal that characterized their social class.

However, just as he could not provide for her, Lord Henry Wotton was also unable to protect
Lady Victoria from the merciless ridicule that she suffered at the hands of London's high society. She is
depicted in The Picture of Dorian Gray as "trying to look picturesque but only succeeding in being
untidy," (Wilde 41) and "looking like a bird of paradise that had been out all night in the rain" (Wilde 42).
It is undoubtable, therefore, that these visualizations were also believed and used by her social circle.
Lord Henry himself mocks his wife and their married life, brutal contempt that even made Basil Hallward
feel uncomfortable. In the very first chapter, Lord Henry boasts of how his marriage was based on
deception wherein he and his wife would often lie to each other about their activities. The only esteem he
has for her is when he admits that Lady Victoria is a much better liar as compared to him.

"You seem to forget that I am married, and the one charm of marriage is that it makes a
life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties. I never know where my wife is, and my
wife never knows what I am doing. When we meet - we do meet occasionally, when we dine out
together, or go down to the Duke's - we tell each other the most absurd stories with the most
serious faces. My wife is very good at it - much better, in fact, than I am. She never gets confused
over her dates, and I always do" (Wilde 7).

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 Victorian high society placed a great emphasis on literature, culture and the arts, a fact that is
corroborated by the multitude of artifacts that both Dorian Gray and Lord Henry Wotton collected and the
activities that the two engaged in.

"He procured from Paris no less than nine large-paper copies of the first edition, and had
them bound in different colors, so that they might suit his various moods and the changing fancies
of a nature over which he seemed, at times, to have almost entirely lost control" (Wilde 108).

As seen in the passage above, an infatuation for a book lent to him by Lord Henry led Dorian to
commission personalized copies of the book, an extravagant purchase that speaks volumes about the
significance of the arts to the wealthy upper-class of Victorian society. Furthermore, it was not only
literature that the Victorians held in high regard, but drama and anything that had to do with the theater, as
well. Even the lower-class found the time and the money to see performances of Shakespeare at small,
run-down theaters. In fact, it was in such an establishment that led to the meeting between Dorian Gray
and Sibyl Vane and, subsequently, Dorian's decline to evil.

This importance for the arts would have subjected Lady Victoria to much derision since she
neither appreciated nor understood such things. In a short conversation with Dorian, she shares: "I like
Wagner's music better than anybody's. It is so loud that one can talk the whole time without other people
hearing what one says. That is a great advantage..." (Wilde 41). Dorian disagrees with Lady Victoria,
saying that one must never talk when good music is playing. Such a principle would have been, without a
question, shared by their social circle.

While Lady Victoria may have had a hand in the ridicule that she suffered from their so-called
"friends," Lord Henry should have had the decency to protect or even defend his wife against such
contempt. Instead, he ignores it and even fuels the flames by mocking her in front of his friends. Lady
Victoria may have been protected from the harsh realities of the world with their retinue of servants and
attendants accorded to them by their social station, however, what she remained to be unprotected from
was the cruelties of her social circle that would have had certainly had a negative effect on her emotional
state.

The nineteenth century was, surprisingly enough, marked by an increase in the rate of marriage
and a decline in fertility. According to Mason, “couples did not produce more children, age for age, than

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their ancestors - they simply married younger and in larger numbers” (Mason 52). Despite this decrease,
this patriarchal society still perceived total domination of the family unit as an indication of masculinity.
The Victorians were enthusiastic about family, which in large part was due to how the public image of
Queen Victoria, the defining figure of this period, was of her role as the matriarch of a large family.
Furthermore, the family unit provided stability and access to eternal values in an era marked by rapid
change. (Nelson 6).

"In a lecture entitled 'Of Queens' Gardens,' delivered in 1864 and published the following
year as part of ​Sesame and Lilies​, the Victorian sage John Ruskin famously articulated his view of
the relationship proper between the sexes. Man, Ruskin explained, was to be the risk-taker, the
protector, the partner toughened by contact with the world. His strength, and his willingness to be
coarsened morally by his exposure to conflict and corruption, would provide a safe place for
woman to carry out her own duties, including not only the maintaining of a pleasant and tranquil
home but also the moral uplifting of its occupants." (Nelson).

The passage above demonstrates how significant the role of the male in the family unit was for
the Victorians. Man's protection of woman enabled home to exist and this, in turn, served as a refuge from
the chaotic public sphere and even as an antidote to it. Under these circumstances, Lord Henry Wotton
would not have been considered "masculine" in the Victorian sense simply because he did not have a
family unit to dominate. Since no children were mentioned in the novel, it is safe to assume that Lord
Henry's marriage with Lady Victoria produced no offspring. Furthermore, he is unable to exercise
authority over his wife because their relationship was far from traditional. Both constantly deceived the
other and Lady Victoria often ridiculed her husband for failing to keep his fabrications straight: "But
when she does find me out, she makes no row at all. I sometimes wish she would; but she merely laughs
at me." (Wilde 8).

However, the most explicit evidence of Lord Henry's lack of authority over his wife was the fact
that Lady Victoria, later on in the novel, left him for a pianist: "You must play Chopin to me. The man
with whom my wife ran away played Chopin exquisitely. Poor Victoria! I was very fond of her" (Wilde
178).

It is important to note that the word used in this passage was 'run away,' which suggests that Lord
Henry never saw it coming. He and his wife may have been deceiving each other throughout their entire

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marriage, but the quote above is evident that he never imagined his wife leaving him. In spite of his
apparent pity for Lady Victoria, it is clear that he held no authority over her, subject to her whims and
fancies, and this would have emasculated him further in the Victorian perspective.

III. Dandyism as Radical Masculinity

In spite of all these, it can be argued that Lord Henry Wotton indeed represented Victorian
masculinity, albeit of a different and more provocative type. A contemporary of Wilde and his Dorian
Gray, Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes can be regarded as the conventional Victorian image of
masculinity. “Although not in a typical sense, Sherlock Holmes shows signs of manliness as well: he is
rational, educated, self-disciplined, and never lets his emotions control him” (Piso). Similar to Lord
Henry, however, Holmes is also unmarried with an unaffectionate relationship with his brother, Mycroft,
and possesses a lack of interest in matters of business and politics. The masculinity that was symbolized
by Sherlock Holmes was the idea of manliness that was established by the Victorians as a reaction to their
rapidly-changing world due to the effects of industrialization and as a “counterbalance [to] the familiar
threats from the colonies, which became increasingly associated with immorality and crime” (Piso). On
the other hand, the Aesthetic movement and Dandyism that Lord Henry Wotton represented can be
perceived as a rebellious masculinity that eschewed the conventional ideal. Thus, the very things that may
have emasculated Lord Henry Wotton, such as his lack of self-control and his constant engagement in
vice, may have been the driving force behind his masculinity.

Nevertheless, Dandyism as a political rebellion and a radical form of masculinity was not widely
accepted by the Victorians. Their conservative society viewed manliness in the same vein as Sherlock
Holmes was perceived by thousands of young men who were avid readers of Arthur Conan Doyle’s
adventure and crime stories: masculinity was tough, rigid, and must be used for the protection of the
inferior sex. Furthermore, dandyism was not considered to be a different manifestation of masculinity
since it was seen as a movement that suppressed it. “Both the early social dandyism of England and the
later, more philosophical French incarnations of the movement announced and glorified a self-created,
carefully controlled man whose goal was to create an effect, bring about an event, or provoke reaction in
others through the suppression of the ‘natural’” (Garelick 3). Dandyism confused the Victorian public and
before Oscar Wilde and his infamous trials, men who dressed in women’s clothing or acted in a feminine
manner were generally greeted with curiosity and bewilderment. “Specifically, prior to the Wilde trials
public expressions toward men who dressed in women’s clothing, who were effeminate in appearance or

9 
behavior, or who were suspected of committing sexual acts with others of the same gender were generally
characterized by the same ambiguity and confusion that accompanied the public’s understanding of the
nature of male effeminacy, cross-dressing, and same-sex passion between men” (Foldy 68). However, this
soon shifted to a much harsher attitude due to several changes during the period, the largest of which were
the professional discourses on the “same-sex passion” phenomenon that they attempted to understand
through medical and scientific specifications (Foldy 69). Effeminate men were considered to be
psychologically unstable and mentally ill and dandyism as a movement would not have been considered
an expression of radical masculinity especially during the latter parts of the nineteenth century.

Thus, Elisa Glick’s ​The Dialectics of Dandyism may have raised questions regarding the
emasculation of those who participated in the Aesthetic movement and may have opened arguments
regarding the masculinity of Lord Henry Wotton, but this character, in the eyes of the Victorians, would
not have been considered to be masculine.

The Picture of Dorian Gray ​was the first and only novel that Oscar Wilde wrote and according to
him, “"Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me, Dorian what I would
like to be — in other ages, perhaps.” Masculinity during the nineteenth century was characterized by
several transformations. During the early years, the old and outdated notions of chivalry and bravery on
the battlefield had to give way to a new form of manliness that took into account the long years of
peacetime and rapid industrialization. The middle part saw the emergence of the Aesthetic movement and
with it, dandyism. Effeminate men were tolerated and endured but they were generally met with much
confusion. In contrast to this, the last years of the nineteenth century was characterized by a pronounced
hostility and malevolence towards men who acted “unmanly.” Even Oscar Wilde himself was prosecuted
and imprisoned for his effeminate ways. Throughout these shifts, the association of masculinity with the
need to protect and provide for the weaker sex remained intact and it was in this context that Lord Henry
Wotton’s masculinity was analyzed and determined. He would not have been seen as masculine by the
Victorian public because he failed to financially provide for his wife and protect her from the
aristocracy’s rumor mill. Had the story not concluded with Dorian Gray’s death, it would have been very
probable that Lord Henry would follow the same path that Oscar Wilde, unfortunately, had to undertake:
prosecution and imprisonment for having the courage to be himself and act in the manner that he wanted
during a time and in a society that imposed rigid rules on its contemporaries. We may never know what
happened to Lord Henry Wotton after Dorian’s demise but we do know that while he was well-liked and
even respected in his social circle, they would have never considered him to be masculine.

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2017.
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